Mono no Aware: The pathos of things
by tinkerchu
Summary: Howell Jenkins always wished for something exciting to happen. It was his freshman year in college still after all. He just didn't think it come in the form of the scary Professor Ellington's daughter. Howl/OC - sorta non-romantic? Okay perhaps not...
1. In which there is a chance encounter

**Mono no Aware (The pathos of things) or "an empathy towards things" **

**A/N; This is one of my first HMC fic. It takes place before Howl moves to Ingary and pretty much those awkward college years. And yes, my main OC is younger then Howl is, by probably six years. I wasn't expecting them to form a romantic relationship.**

May. The flowers were in bloom early it seemed. It was one of those fair days this spring where the weather was not all too atrocious. It was climbing slowly over 15 degrees Celsius yet it still looked like it wanted to drizzle.  
The climate was mild enough for the girl to parade around in shorts and a light throw-over jacket. She casually carried a small package wrapped snuggly in a floral cloth. The campus had the occasional student enjoying an early lunch break here and there. Just passing a little swiss cottage, she hiked the path toward the main buildings.

She looked too young to be in the hallways of a university, but she didn't care. She didn't appear lost or out of place, so no one bothered her. The science departments were just about to let students out to lunch, all except one. The door in the back still remained shut, imprisoning its students. She looked inside to see the instructor still giving out some last minute assignments. Physics was a hit and miss class here for some.

Students were starting to pile out in groups. She moved off to the side to let them out. A couple of them eyeballed her. Some recognized her as the professor's daughter.

After nearly everyone was out she went in and approached the main teacher's desk.

As the tall, slinky, blond woman turned around, she nearly had a heart attack.

"Ah, Momo!"

"Hello mother."

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"It turned in to a half day, and I thought you wanted some lunch." She presented the bento box that was specially prepared by her father.  
"Thank you," she said, grabbing it and shaking her head. She knew she forgotten something that morning.  
"Professor," said a man who seemed to have creeped up on them. Momo looked just like her mother had a moment ago, when she noticed.  
"Yes?"  
"About the paper last week..."  
"I didn't assign any paper."  
"In your other class, Professor." The boy smiled. He looked like he could barely be twenty years of age.

"Ah, that's right. I forgot that I taught two classes." Besides Physics, she also taught a very refined English class in the classroom across the campus. The Physics spot was reserved after the last teacher retired and they were unable to fill the position. She was hoping it was going to be more temporary, but it seemed like she was stuck. "You can go ahead, sweetie."

"Alright," Momo replied as she turned around. It was a teacher-student thing, apparently, and the conversation seemed private.  
"What did you want to talk about, Mr...?" It was horrible for an educator to forget a student's name, but she couldn't recall.  
"It's Jenkins..."

Momo turned down the hallway heading toward the library. It was mostly open to students, but she had gained access using her mother's card. Since a college library always had a better selection then a regular downtown mainstream one, it was the best place to be.  
_I forgot to bring the other books back. _Oh well. She would just have to bring them back the next time. They still have a week left before the due date. She was looking through a shelf of older novelty novels when she heard a fussy person enter the library. It was fairly quiet during lunch time except for a few hardchargers.

This person just sounded distraught.  
"Hey, shssh!" someone commented on the disrupter's behavior. The boy tossed his bag into an empty chair as he headed towards the shelves. Momo watched through the cracks as the boy ran his hand through his already tousled mousy brown hair.

He took out a fairly large book from the shelf and started to flip through it.

_I wonder what he needed to talk about with my mother. He must be failing a class or something. _

She snickered as she took a couple books from a series off the shelf. The boy heard her quiet laugh and looked over in her direction.  
_Oh crap. _She ducked down, but dropped all her books at the same time. Trying to grab all the scattered books caused more of a disturbance. As she was reaching out to grab the last overturned book, it quickly left her grasp.  
"Hey there, little spy." It was the boy looking down upon her.

"I wasn't spying..." she mumbled to herself.

"Time Masters...good choice." He remarked looking at the title before handing it to her. She ripped it out of his hands.

He was beaming, his eyes looking very amused. She couldn't help but stare at him. Something about his eyes was alluring and mysterious.

_Glass marbles..._

They looked just like a pair of green marbles.

"You have that same demure look your mother has."  
Her mouth became stern. "I better get going."

She was heading towards the front desk with her load of books. "So..." He followed her. "Why have I never seen the daughter of Professor Ellington before?"

"I must have not existed till you did."

His eyes flickered by that clever remark.  
"I have to go." She picked up her books, and left the library without a look back at the boy.

Her father was waiting for her in the car by the end of the park.  
"You went by the library again?" He said, noticing all the books she was carrying.  
"I told you I was."

"Ya, I know, kiddo. Just messing with you."

She started to dig into her books. Her father, though, was relentlessly trying to engage in a conversation with her. "So this summer, do you want to visit grandma?"

"Maybe. Is mother coming?"  
"I think she said she had something else going on."  
_Again? _It seemed each time a break came around, she was busy, always involving the main university in the city as well.

At home, besides jump-starting her homework, she started to organize her books. When she got to the ones she checked out today, she paused on the raggedy copy of Time Masters. _That guy is so weird..._

She heard her mother come home. Her father was in the kitchen cooking dinner.  
"How was work?"  
"Besides the obvious groveling of some of the students, it wasn't so bad. I enjoyed the lunch you made. About that though..."

She closed her door all the way. Not in the mood to listen, she began to read her book. She didn't get far into it before there was a knock at her door, and without an invitation, her mother popped in..  
"Hey, dinner's ready."

"Okay...I'll be right there."

She heard her mother's heels tap away down the hall.

_As usual, she doesn't have much to say to me. Ever._

Ailith Ellington was a woman who knew what she wanted. She had secured her position as a top university professor at Oxford out of vigilance and ruthlessness.

Mitsuru Adachi had originally had different plans on his mind. He had recently transferred to England to get a masters degree in teaching and maybe teach Japanese Literature abroad. His dreams were slightly skewed by Miss Ellington. They ended up in southern part of Wales. Swansea, to be exact. There was no room, unfortunately, for a teacher with Japanese Literature masters, so he became a stay at home parent. By then, they were already raising a child of their own.

Dinner was enjoyable, it was the only time when the family was together. Momo's father usually mixed the meals up between Japanese and Western dishes.  
"So, you got anything planned for tomorrow, since its the early weekend?" asked her father.  
"Not really. Read..."  
"Did you do your homework?" Her mother inquired. "They still hand that stuff out, right?"  
"Yeah..." She stuffed food into her mouth so she would resist the urge to say anything else. She may had resembled her mother in the looks department, but her demeanor was closer to her father's.

"Well, I have a lot of papers to grade. Excuse me." Her mother left the table to go to her office.

"I'm sure she's just stressed from the workload," Her father assured her, along with himself.

In the morning, after helping her father with most of the chores, she headed outside. It was another pleasant day, and it was hitting an unusual hot streak, all of a sudden. Taking the books that needed to go back to the library, she took a walk to the university.

When she was walking through the park this time, she happened to spy a nice sitting spot under a tree nearby. Taking her book out, she settled underneath the shade and started to immerse herself into her paperback. It was around that same time that a group of unruly college students were occupying the field, playing a game of rugby. It was probably getting too unruly...

***

Howell Jenkins was a part of that game. The roughhousing was sometimes too much for him to handle. He had already broken his nose last semester during a game. Though he was accepted as part of the team, he felt like his other mates were a bit judgmental of his situations.  
"Hey Jenkins, stay open!" Perfect catch. He was always good at this for some reason, even though he was distracted at the moment.

Underneath a tree was the Professor's daughter. She was lying on her back, paging through a book.

_I didn't even get her name. _

Luck had it, practice was tying up.  
"Jenkins," one of his teammates called out to him. For the love of it he could not remember this guy's name. "What are you staring at Professor Ellington's kid for?"  
"I wasn't staring. I was politely observing."

"Whatever, forming a good relationship with her won't help you in passing English."  
"Yeah, what's the deal with that," commented another guy. Howl recognized him from class. "She laid it hard on you yesterday."  
"It's only one failing grade. Hopefully my average didn't drop."

"She didn't let you turn it back in?"

"No." He tried to not look bothered by it.  
"Bitch..."  
"That woman is mental."

"Good thing Jenkins isn't into girls."  
_Wanks..._

He would have given anything to knock a couple of them in the nose himself, but that would only cause problems. Plus, it wouldn't teach them. They had always confused his effeminacy for something else. So what if he cared about his looks? He probably practiced better hygiene skills then, his fellow teammates here.

"Hey, I never said that," he quickly defended smiling. "I wouldn't be looking otherwise."

"So he admits it." The guys walked ahead of him. He fell back and headed towards the tree.

_The things I do for my honor. _

"Hey, he isn't really...?" They noticed his descent. "Isn't she in secondary school?"  
"Won't he find out for himself," said the other guy.

The weather was starting to turn. That was the thing about port towns, the weather was always unpredictable. She checked her watch. It was barely noon. The rugby players were already retiring, since the temperature dropped. She might have another hour here till the rain.  
"You're on the second book already. That good?"  
"It's you again." No surprise. She continued to read, regardless of his presence.

"That's my line. You were watching us over there."  
"I doubt that. Rugby is pretty barbaric if you ask."  
His smile faded. "You know, I thought you were different from your mother..."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" She dropped her book. Besides sharing the same locks of hair and nice pair of legs, she didn't see a comparison.  
"I think it's quite obvious."  
"Yeah?" She sat up. "I think it's quite obvious how you are hitting on the daughter of a teacher that is currently flunking you."  
"I'm not failing, it was one blimey paper. She was not seeing me eye to eye ."  
"That's nice to hear." She stood up. It was time to go.

"Want to get some tea?" He followed her.  
"I guess you don't see girls walking away from you much. Usually, it means they are not interested."

"Really? I thought they were leading me somewhere all this time."

"Into a ditch maybe." She smiled for a second, noticing he was too. "What's so funny?"

"You should smile more often. Unlike that mother of yours."

"Well, I'm nothing like her."

"I would hope so."

They were walking beside each other towards the building. It looked like they were heading towards the student lounge.

"You don't want to change first?" She noted his attire. Being sweaty and dirty was not too appealing.

"I don't live close to the campus." He seemed to have just realized his state and started to quietly straighten himself up.  
"Ah."  
"How come I have never seen you here before?"

"Just because my mother teaches here, doesn't mean I'm a student."  
"Point taken."

_I guess I don't look as young as I thought. _

"Um, I think I should head home," she said looking at the sky. _Otherwise I will be stuck in the rain.  
_The boy looked dishearten about that.  
"I probably should too. I have to babysit my nephew." He was still walking beside her. When they got to the gate, she eyed him suspiciously. But he was the one to spoke first. "Are you following me?"

"No." She stated. When their path divided, he turned to her.  
"So this is goodbye for now. I'm not sure when our paths will meet again."

"Next time my mom forgets her lunch."

"Or when you're done with that mountain of books you have." He winked as he walked away.

***

That night, her mother was running late. Irregular for the weekend, but she wasn't really missed. She made one phone call telling them to not wait around the dinner table for.

"Where did you learn to become such a good cook?" she asked her father. Conversation at the table seemed much more pleasant without mother around dampening the mood.

"Your grandmother taught me a thing or two."

_That's good. At least someone in the family can cook. _

She chewed her pickled veggies silently before ruminating something.

"Are you and mom okay?" Her father's expression became as dismal as hers.  
"I'm not sure..." Maybe the information that his daughter was noticing something wrong was just as conclusive.  
"It's just, I haven't seen a lot of her lately. So I don't know."

"Well, after the midterms, she should have a lot more free time." He started to clean up the table. She helped him clean before retiring up to bed. By that time, her mother still wasn't home.  
Passing by the professor's study, she noticed the door was left ajar. It stroke her a bit odd for it was usually closed all the way. She had never been in there alone. Only when her mother was busy grading papers.

The darkness in the room was too intense. She felt around on the wall for the switch, it was wired to a lamp on the desk. It was littered with stack of papers, scattered over open texts.

Looking back down the stairway, she could hear her father still in the kitchen. She continued over to the desk and looked at the top paper on the stack. They were all student papers.

Her mouth fell open at the atrocious writing of the first paper she picked up. It was beyond hideous! How could her mother comprehend this?

The author's name was plain clear.

_Jenkins...So, it's you again. _

The paper was all marked up, but not much in a grammatical sense. It seemed the professor was challenging the theoretical sense of his point. Past the horrible scribbles she was able to make some of the chaos out.

It was a literal analyst of "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost. She decided to read through the first couple of lines to see how horrible this paper actually was. Past the scribbles that were barely unreadable, she found it was not bad and not too terribly common.

The standard was well beyond a college student level, yet her mother had decided to mark the paper with all too common phrases she was used to hearing.

_Impossible...rhetorical...senseless. _

"It's not that bad..." she mumbled to herself.

The front door banged loudly as it slammed shut.

_Crap. _

It meant her mother was home. Hopefully, she was being stalled in the kitchen long enough that she could slip out. The paper still tightly clinched in her hand.


	2. In which falling stars are not caught

**A/N: I would like to thank my beta-reader Kae Rae Gallatin with helping me. Other then that, thanks for reading!**

Already the weekend sunlight shone through her open window hitting her in the eye. She rolled over to see the paper on her nightstand. Apparently it was not important enough that her mother did not notice its disappearance.

She checked the clock quickly. The library was only open certain hours on the weekend.

Quickly dressing and consuming a small breakfast she scurried off to the college. As she expected it was quite empty.

_Fire and Ice _

It was familiar, but she took down a book of Best Poetry Collections just to refresh her mind. She found that she liked this particular piece.

She went ahead and checked the book out. The paper was still in her bag. It was getting crinkled being smothered under the heavy weight of the books.

_Oops. _

Walking out of the library, she bumped in the person she least expected.

"Mom!"

She looked just as surprised. "What are you doing here?"  
Her mother acted as if like the stack of books in her arms did not indicate what she had been doing. "I was in the library, catching up on homework."

It was a small fib, but a small price to pay. Either way, her mother seemed pleased.  
"Good, tell your father that I will be home a little late today," she said, walking away.

_Cold and heartless..._

That was her thoughts when she walked away.

She headed towards the seaside, just across from the university. It was still a nice day out. Settling down on the rocks, she cracked open the book.

The light seaside breeze blew by her. It was starting to get chilly. She finally closed her book. It was nearing lunchtime. The closest place was in the university lunch room, but it seemed unappealing. She did not want to go home and bother her father.

She packed her books in to her bag and walked past Singleton park to the nearest cafe. Eating some normal food from the area was what she was craving for.

Again on the rugby field was a group of people playing. She scanned the field for that mousy hair guy but he was not there.  
_Oh bother. Like I care. _

Though the crinkled term paper sitting on the bottom of her bag could prove her otherwise. She continued on her way to the nearest cafe for a spot of lunch. Settling down at a place not far away from the campus, she chose a nice window seat.

She got there before the rush. A flood of rugby players came in. This place was a popular spot for some of the students. It was cheap and delicious at the least.

Pulling out one of the books she recently check out, she decided to do some research. Flipping to a random page, she opened it up to a few interesting pieces. Her eyes glazed over the title.

_Fire and Ice...  
_ She continued to read.

_Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice.  
From what I've tasted of desire  
I hold with those who favor fire.  
But if it had to perish twice,  
I think I know enough of hate  
To say that for destruction ice  
Is also great  
And would suffice._

She bode over her thoughts for a bit. _One or the other, huh? _She was about to reach down to grab that paper, when she noticed a presence over her shoulder.

"Very melodramatic, right?"

She nearly had a heart attack and fell out of her chair.

"Hi." Speak of the devil. It was the tall mousy haired boy.

"Hi..." she said back. _He is way too close! _He was leaning over her chair, and he must have been there for a bit if he was reading too.

"Is that seat taken?"

"Eh..no." She saw him flash a toothy smile as he took the vacant chair across from her.

"So..."

"So." _Goddamn! Why am I so nervous? All I'm able to do is repeat what he's saying._

"Are you stalking me?"

"That's my line." She blurted out. He really knew how to navigate a conversation.

"So, is there a reason why you have a sudden fascination with Frost?"

"No, not a particular one at all." She closed the book. Busted.

" That's really funny. You know, I wrote a paper about that..." He stared off in to space. "Ah, it doesn't matter. Completely irrelevant." His eyes beamed back to her. "So what are you doing all by yourself in a place like this?"

"Just catching up on some reading."

"Does that include eating lunch alone?"

"That's not really you business..." She wanted to call him by name, but she couldn't really remember it. Only his last name was clear. "Mr. Jenkins?"

"Oh, you can call me by my first name." She faltered on remembering that one too. He smile became wider.

"It's Howell."

"Howl?"

"Right..." He ignored the mispronunciation . It seemed like it was all too common these days. "And yours is..."

"Momo."

"What does that mean?"

"It means 'peach' in Japanese."

"Who gave you that name..." he asked curiously. "Your mother or your father?"

"Well, I would think my father. My grandma was named Momoko."

"Nice..."

"Who gave you your name?" That made the boy roar out in laughter. "What's so funny?"

"No one has ever asked me that before."

_Good cover for not knowing. _

"Plus I'm not entirely sure." _Bingo_. She was right on the dot. "Both of them passed away before I could ask." _Now that's just depressing. _"Sorry...I seemed to have dampen the mood."

"No...It's alright." She tossed her book into her bag. A loud crinkling noise happen, in which she remembered that a piece of paper was now on the bottom of them.

Before she could close her open bag, Howl had already reached over to her and placed his hands on top of hers.

"There's something I don't get about you."

"Oh? Um...what?" _Why is he touching me? I can feel my heart in my chest. _

"You're not the cold-hearted demon your mother is."

What a contradiction he had there if he only knew! She kept her mouth firmly closed though.

"And your eyes..."

Now the bit about the eyes. He was clearly a romantic. She prepared for whatever speech he was going to say to woo her, but it never came.

"They seem old like you know things."

_Compare to yours?_ One of her eyebrows tweaked. Perceptive. He clearly had a gift for seeing things for what they were, or nearly.

Now only if he knew the truth well enough on who was really the demon, but she wouldn't blame him. Her mother could sometimes appear the _true _demon. She was clearly a spiteful creature that was ruthless.

" But...I don't know why. Because clearly you have the appearance of a young girl." She almost felt berated by his eyes. It wasn't fair that he could almost see through her and she could barely see him. His green glass-marble eyes pierce right through her, holding up a barrier of their own.

Realizing he still had a firm hold on top of her hand, she pulled back, leaving her bag open. She knew if he had some sense he would not be a nosy-all that goes through a girl's bag. He threw her for a loop as she watched him pick up her bag by its strap and slung it over his shoulder.

"What are you-?"

"It's starting to get a bit rowdy in here," he motioned towards the rugby players in the corner. On that note, it did sound like a better idea. Feeling bad that she had already ordered a drink, she left a pound on the table for the waitress and followed the boy out of the cafe.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, you're coming too."

"That's ver y reassuring ." They casually walked down the street back towards the university. It was a nice day that was wasted being indoors. They ended up passing the school which she seemed relieved.

She thought Howl was thinking the same thing she was. Being seen with the professor's daughter was a sure way to get more red stained papers back.

"So what's the deal with you always hanging out by the field?"

She was not surprised that he had spotted her. Though she had seemed to have missed him entirely. Most of the rugby players were all the same.

"No reason. I just need somewhere to hide where she can't find me." He laughed. He knew which _her _she was referring to as well.

"Don't have any friends from school to hide with?" Her demeanor changed a little. She was sure hoped that he was aware that she was still in secondary school.

"No..."

"I see." He sternly noted as he placed his hands in his front pockets of his jeans. The sea was slowly dawning on them. The rocky edges were more than treacherous as they loomed ahead. The salty air was a pleasant smell this time of the year.  
She gladly welcomed the scenery with opened eyes as she approached the guardrail. Howl was not far behind her as he leaned his back against pipes. It pressed her as she watched the ocean when she realized he was watching her.

He shook his head and looked back to the sea, disregarding the fact that he was staring. "It's just...weird sometimes."

"What is?" She narrowed her eyes.

" Your presence is so overbearing."  
She smirked. _Yours is annoying. _"Am I that intimidating?" She started to jest.

"No." He shook his head. "Not really. Not compared to some other women..."

"My mom?"

"My sis."

So he's dealt some experience with women.

"Ah." She smiled coyly, looking away.

"What was that?" He noticed right away.

"Nothing. Can I have my bag back?"

Looking confused at first, he realized that he was still holding her bag. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." He unslung it from his shoulders and handed it to her. She placed her bag around her shoulder. Remembering that there was something of value in there that she did not want the person next to her to find. Or did she?

She had meant to put it back on her mother's desk, but what harm was it to him? She didn't steal it from him, she stole it from her. Her mother. About to reach for the paper to return it to its owner, she stopped.

"There was something I wanted to ask you about..." he began. He looked a bit forlorn by the seaside with the question he wanted to ask. "...did you ever have the feeling of..." He paused. "That there were things in this world that didn't belong?"  
Her eyes got wider. _What is he talking about?_

A strong gust of wind flew by, out towards the open sea, taking with it the stray piece of paper she was trying to salvage from the bottom of her bag. She let a small gasp escape her mouth as she witnessed it. Howl was about to reach out to grab it, but she had already jumped over the railing.

"Hey!" He yelled in the plight of her safety. "What are you doing?" He had begun to watch frantically as she slid down the rocky shoreline.

"I can't let it get away!"

"You could fall!" Howl looked like he wanted to follow to catch her but he was hesitant. Someone had to be sensible here.

Both of them were not going to fall and crack their skulls.

"I'm fine!" she said. The paper did not fly far. She was able to pick it up a few feet down the rocks. "Gotcha!" She was about to wave back to him to indicate she was alright when her foot slip and she lost her footing.

Catching a glimpse of the guy coming towards her waving his hand, all she could remember is falling and passing out from the shock.


	3. In which there is much ado about nothing

**Sorry for very late updates! I do have more chapters of this story done, I just usually get caught up in work and school and forget to post. Also this chapter hasn't been read by my beta-reader in here, so it may contain so mistakes. **

She woke up hours later remembering the fall instantly. The fall she was sure she shouldn't had made it out alive. She checked her surroundings once more. She was in a bed, but not a hospital bed. Not even a bed in the nurse's ward.

_Where am I? _  
This must be a guy's room. It was not decorated with the usual feminine things she was used to. Her bag was on the desk chair. And to her horror the paper was on the desk.  
Which meant...

"Good, you're alive." He closed the door gently behind him. How did she know?  
"What happen?" She demanded for answers. He handed her a glass of water.  
"You fell. Due to your lack of gravity I think."  
"But...I..." She took the glass feeling unsure. _Shouldn't I have bruises? Broken bones? I mean...a fall like that should have scathed me! _

"You were very lucky." Something about the boy's sincere tone put her off.  
"Really?" She sat down on his bed sipping the water. _Then why did you take me here instead of the medical ward? _  
"Yes, really." He reaffirmed as his eyes met the paper on his desk. "I see you have done some reading."  
"It was very entertaining."  
"So entertaining that you stole it from your mother's desk?"  
"I meant to return it."  
"Don't bother." He didn't look too happy. "I don't get it though." He seemed to be deep in thought. Her eyes started to wander around his room. Maybe it was the shock from the fall, but she did not feel very talkative.

_He sure has a lot of books...Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Hitchhiker's Guide, King Arthur...Merlin?  
_She took the last book down from the shelves to examine it. So he was interested in Merlin? It was an older edition. It felt like it was going to fall apart as she opened the front cover.

"Hey." He whisked it out of her hands gently. "Don't touch."  
"Is it fragile?"  
"You can say." He placed it back on the shelf.  
"So what's the deal with Merlin? Are you into magic?"  
He smirked. "That's funny. No, nosy. Merlin just happens to be Welsh."

"Ah. The Welsh pride..."  
"I take it, besides the obvious fact that you are clearly of Asian origin, that your better half isn't Welsh?"

"Ah...no."

"Where is your mother from then?"  
"Essex...and by your lack of Pride and Prejudice I see you do not agree."

"You mean Hertfordshire?" He raised an eyebrow. "And I do own a copy. You should know your English literature better. Better which, you should look at a map" She rolled her eyes.  
_"HOWELL!" _

Howl's face frowned. "This is not good."  
Sensing the tension she was feeling curious. "Who's that?"

"My sister. Excuse me." He ran out the door but not before looking at her sternly and remarking _"Don't touch anything" _he flew down the stairs. She tried to eavesdrop. But it was proving a bit difficult especially since one of them was screaming at the other.

He came back up quickly though. "You should leave."

"Does your sister know I'm here?"  
"No..."

"Are you not allowed to have girls in your room or something?" She smiled.

"Of course! It's just that..." He looked her over once.  
"What?"

"This gives off the wrong impression."

_Impression? _She frowned. Did she really look loose or something?  
"I mean towards me, not you! What do you think my sister would say when she sees you in my room?"

"Right.." _Does make you look like a bad guy, doesn't it? _"Then it's a lolita complex then?" _  
_"No!" he said with a look of horror on his face.

He grabbed her hand and firmly tried to escort her out. She wanted to resist for a second, but it seemed pointless. Especially arguing against someone as strong minded as him.

"Wait..." Her eyes gazed back over to the desk where the paper was. But he was still dragging her towards the door.

"No, I-"  
The door flung open from the other side.  
"Howell!" A medium build woman stood in their way. She had the same mousy-colored hair as her brother and the same complexion. "You can't run away when I'm in the middle of talking to you! Who's this?"  
"Megan, uh, this is..."  
"My tutor!" Momo blurted out.

"You never mentioned a tutor? Howell! What are you failing this time?" His face grimaced. This was not what he wanted! He kinda wished the small being behind him would disappear.

"No, I meant Mr. Jenkins is my tutor." Momo corrected.  
"Howell is _your _tutor?" She looked at Momo skeptically liked she was lying and honestly could not believe it.

"Yes, ma'am."  
Her mouth sorta gaped open.

"Megan?" Howl noticed that the dismal look on her face.  
"It's nothing...just continue what you were doing. Don't worry about what I said." She turned down the hall and headed back downstairs.

He watched her go before he shut the door almost amazed.  
"You..." He stopped as he looked down on Momo.

"I'm sorry, it was the first thing that came to mind."  
"...are amazing! I'm in awe! I've never seen my sister stumped like that."

"Yeah? I guess that means I can stick around."  
He sighed heavily. "Sure, I'll babysit for awhile." Though there was nothing really to be done. "I suppose I could educate on the finer things, like being welsh."

"Oh joy." She said dismally as she sat at his desk. "We could always do some role reversal and I can tutor you." Grabbing the paper in her hands she looked it over.

"I thought you said there was nothing wrong with that."  
"There isn't...perhaps its really just my mother." She then remembered the conversation that was happening not even an hour ago. Before the fall. "What did you mean earlier?"  
"Mean by what?" He crossed his arms as he leaned against the desk. When she did looked up in those hazel-green eyes of him they honestly told her he didn't have a clue.

"About my mother? About things not being where they belong?"

"It was nothing. Don't worry about that. I was still crossed about the assignment." She actually took all those words he fed to her to heart. Letting it quickly dropped, she returned to the task at hand.

"It's all very literal." She remarked. "But somehow you put everything in to words that actually make me want to believe. I don't know how you do it."

_Actually I do..._

"Do you want to know a secret about me?" He whispered to her softly. Looking intrigued, she listened.  
It was only a moment lately he nonchalantly stated: "I can do magic."

"Yeah right!" She rolled her eyes.  
"I'm serious." Cracking a smile, she disregarded.  
"Uh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"You're..." She stopped as she stood up.  
"I'm what?"

"Extremely delusional."  
"Then how do you explain when you fell that you have no marks or bruises?"  
"Uh..." It was the exact question puzzling her earlier. "You're crazy." She reached her bag ready to distance herself from the lunatic.

"Okay, I was kidding! Jezz woman! You were taking everything I said to heart, weren't you?"  
"No, I legitimately thought you were mental." She said not amused by his syntactical laughter.  
"You should probably head home now anyways." He politely opened the door for her. She paused in the doorway for a second expecting something else from him. "I'm busy with end of term exams, so you might not be grace with my presence tomorrow."

"Who asked?" She snide. _I wasn't that concerned if I was invited again or not. _ He smiled again as she escorted herself down the stairs.

* * *

Pat-tat-tat-tat.

It was raining. Seemed only fair for the few days of sunny weather that had over the weekend, but it also meant that there was no reason to go out. Not in miserable, cold, damp weather like this.

She pent herself in her room all morning and well in to the afternoon reading. She already finished the Time Masters series, and was well into her way in to another one. Most of the books she had picked had most of the familiar set of cast. Nobles, magical creatures, and of course the usual spellcasters.

At worst, it didn't help her take magic off her mind. Not after what the young man said.

_I mean, who would be better to believe in magic then me? _

This was not something that she was not willing to discuss amongst her peers or any sane person.

Regardless, none of these crazy thoughts of hers would cease.

The household was deathly quiet. Her mother was at work and her father was out shopping at the local grocer. It did not help her sanity level one bit. She was drawing out a list of everything she could think possible and what really happened yesterday by the beach.

_I fell, but I didn't hit the ground? None of my clothes were scuffed either._

_It doesn't make sense he was able to catch me in time either. _

_And that stupid paper! Shouldn't have even bothered..._

_I still passed out though...it was weird it was windy too...wait. _

_Wait. _

_The paper.  
_She stood out of her desk chair realizing something.  
_I left it at HIS HOUSE! _

It was odd that her mother hadn't realized the paper was missing. It had been a few days. Perhaps she was not done grading that stack. Though he mother was not known to be belligerent on her duties as a educator. It was mid-term week.

She had already found herself at her mother's desk regardless. It was empty and void of papers. The clutter seemed to have been blown clean off her desk by a mysterious force. Regardless of the clever facts, she raided the drawers looking for where her mother had stored them. The guilt was already hitting her. She didn't mean to have done this.

Looking at her watch, it was a little after two. Classes should be over for the day. Maybe something good would happen.

The doorbell rang.

She ran down the stairs to answer it. Expecting only a postal man delivering a package to her mother, she was surprised to be meeting a much different guest on the doorstep.  
"Hello."  
"Hel-lo." It was a choked out greeting. _WHY IS HE HERE?_

After a full minute of staring, Howl giving her the quizzical stare, he finally said something.

"Can I come in?"  
"Yeah! Of course," she moved out of his way so he could. He was about to step into the hallway but she grabbed his arm. "Wait, shoes!"

"Shoes?" he looked down at his own feet.  
"No shoes in the house!" she pulled out a visitor set of house slippers for him. "Here."

"Oh, okay." He uncomfortably slide off his sneakers and put his feet into house slippers. They stood briefly in the hallway as he took in the new surroundings. "Nice place." He commented on the décor.  
"Thanks. So...what brings you here?" _How did you know I live here anyway?_ That should have been the question, but she was sure the address was listed in the school directory.  
The boy was completely drenched, except for the poor contents in his bag. He went digging in there, and magically, produced a paper. His graded term paper.  
"You brought it?" she stared at it wide-eyed. She snatched it from him.  
"Yes, cause some dummy left it on my desk." The gesture did touch her. Of course though, he did it to protect his butt too. "Are you going to continue to stare at it or put it back where it belongs?"  
"Oh right," she started to head upstairs to her mother's office. The room was clean, remarkably she was able to find where her mother had stashed all those papers afterall. Slipping it into the middle of the stack, she straighten the papers on the desk so it appeared as if it was never disturbed.  
"There." She admired her handiwork on the desk before noticing that he had followed her in to the room. "What are you doing?"  
"So this is what the terrifying professor's office looks like?" He was in turn admiring the room.  
"You shouldn't be in here." She joined him by the bookshelf with her hands placed firmly on her hips.  
"Very interesting books." He took one off the shelf. She almost had a heart attack when he did.  
"Hey!" she wanted to grab it out of his hands, but he was too tall and had a better advantage of keeping it away.  
"Hmm...moralizing." He shook his head looking in the book. "Your mother really reads this smute?" He tossed the book aside to the midget and grabbed a different book, looking smilingly alike in binding.  
"Norland?" He was comply by the author's he had never heard of.

While he trifled though another book with foreign words on the cover, she looked down at the book in hand. In fact, she herself have never sampled the books on her own mother's bookshelf. This one itself had an interesting cover and a most dull title: _Mrs. Pentstemmon's Path: Signposts to the Truth, _by an Abigail Pentstemmon. She looked in the inside cover. Published in Kingsbury?

_I've never heard of such place...In Ingary?_  
Meanwhile, Howell was already inept in the book. The cover read _Crucial Cantrips_ by William Norland.  
"Where did your mother get this book?"  
"Like I know?" He looked at her with a pale look on his face. "What's wrong?"

He closed the book taking a deep breath. "It's not real."  
"What's not?" He grabbed the book out of her hand and returned them both to the shelf. He even dragged her out of the room and closed the door himself. "What's going on?"  
"Where does your mother go when she leaves on the weekends?"  
"Oxford in London?"

"Nowhere else?"  
"No...Why are you asking me all these questions?"  
He started to head down the stairs. "I'm positive your mother's hiding something."  
The serious tone of his voice made her stiff. _Hiding what?  
_This was the same man she deemed crazy just the other day. _This was after you saw something...the books in her study. _  
He was already at the door putting on his shoes tying the laces.  
"Why would you say that?"  
"Because..." he strained for a second adjusting his bag. "It's your mother." He disappeared out the door in the pouring rain.

* * *

Her father returned a half hour later with the groceries. She helped him bring them in and then returned silently to her room. The scene of Howell in her mother's office kept replaying in her mind. It's weird all the times she was in there, she never noticed the oddities of some of the books on her mother's shelf. _I just assumed they were all college texts from my mother's studies. _  
And maybe they were. A study of a different subject.

She got on her computer and started to search for a "_Abigail Pentstemmon."_ Zero searches returned.

"_Signposts to the Truth." "Crucial Cantrips." "William Norland."  
_Nothing even close. _"Crucial Cantrips," _returned results about a popular table game involving mages and witches. So cantrips are spells?  
_Did these people exist? _So her mother had a bookshelf half full of books by nonexistent people and it was about spells and magic?  
The door downstairs slammed. Mother was home. Never did she feel so excited to see her home. Walking out of her room, she saw her mother seclude herself in her office. It was a brave attempt to confront her, but she only found herself outside the door.

"Momo!" She had beat her to the door before she could knock. "What are you doing?" Turning off the lights and closing the door, she looked at her daughter.  
"I..uh...how was your day?"  
"Pleasant, if you enjoy grading midterms. There's one particular student that I believe is torturing me with horrendous penmanship."  
"Really now." _I wonder who she might be referring to here...  
_"Dinner should be ready, come on." She hustled her daughter downstairs.


	4. In which there is much black

**Another chapter update in the same day! Now this is where things may get complicated with the story. Even though this is suppose to be a prequel to a crossover fic (with yuyuhakusho) I think I may have already crossed that bridge. There is a hakusho character in here, I might have to move this story in to the cross over section soon then. =.=**

It rained the next day again foiling another trip to the library. And this day was different. Her mother decided to stay in too making all the more reason to want to escape the confinements of the house.

She went down to the kitchen around lunchtime, quiet as a mouse wearing her house sleepers. Her mother was still in the study working. She could hear her fingernails tapping against the keyboard.

_I wonder if I should be nice enough to fix her lunch. _

Knowing her mother, she would forget to feed herself. Apparently that was what her husband was for, to remind her of these things.

Just to be nice, she decided to make an extra sandwich and bring it up to her mother. Knocking politely first on the door, then preceding cautiously, she found her mother nose-deep in a text while typing away on her keyboard.

She set the plate on the desk making a small clunk. Her mother looked up for the first time since she entered.

"Oh, I totally forgot. It's that time already?" She looked back at her wall clock. Momo started to back out of the room with her plate, when her mother stopped her. "You can eat with me in here."

She gave a strained look before sitting down in an empty chair by the window.  
_Probably wanted me to stay so I can clean the dishes. _

She stared at the bookshelves much in the same fashion as the day before. Her mother seemed to ignored the whole time.

The phone rang. On the second ring, her mother picked up the receiver end.  
"Hello, who's this?" she always answered the phone in the same authoritative tone. After the next couple of seconds, she answered a bit more friendly. "Oh, I remember."

"Yes, I'm alone." She looked over at Momo in the corner. She took the que to get up, but her mother motioned her to sit and be quiet.

_So now I get the privilege to listen in to mommy's private phone calls? _

It was what little girls wanted from their mother. A glimpse in their ultra-adult life.

_I guess that's what most girls want. _

"Yes, but what does that have to do-" her mother was cut off mid-sentence into the conversation. Something Momo has rarely seen. "I understand. I have them ready by tomorrow. You can come pick them up at my office."

-Click-

She placed the phone down and looked at her daughter.

"Here, take this back down with you." She handed her the plate.  
_Is this what she wanted me to wait for? _She rolled her eyes in the hallway. It was still a weird conversation to overhear. Maybe it was her senior somewhere that was talking to her otherwise that conversation would not have gone that way.

* * *

She woke up the next morning to the sun.

_Oh marvelous Sun! _

It was time to hit the library. She packed all the overdue books into her backpack and started to walk to the university. She made sure to avoid the dreaded hallway of the English department. After dropping all the books in the return slot, she went to stacks hunting for some books.

_I wonder where I find such books like the ones my mother has._  
Apparently someone else had the same idea.

"Hey," she greeted the boy siting between the stacks with a pile of books beside him. Howl looked up at her saying nothing. He looked exhausted, like he has been here for hours. "What's going on?"

"None of it makes sense."

Confused she waited for him to continue.  
"There is no 'William Norland' nor 'Abigail Penstemmon'. These people don't exist!"

"Maybe its a pen name?"

"If it was a pen name, it would have at least shown up in the catalog."

"Then its a gag book or something."

"No! It would have had more then one author attached."

"Then I don't know." Momo shook her head. It was what she had already figured out the day before. These people were nonexistent in the real world. What was more it seemed to bother them more then it should.

"There's only one way to find out for sure." She started, though she did not really like the idea. "We ask my mother where she got the books."

He started to have a hysterical expression. "Well, first off there's no 'we,' But you are welcome to ask her yourself."

"Oh, that's nice." She huffed.  
"As far as your mother is concerned, we do not know each other and I would like to keep it that way. I have also never been in your house or nor do I know where it is."

"Are you afraid you will be labeled as some creeper?"

"No, I just don't need any more reason for her to be after me." After looking at his watch, he started to put all the books back on the shelf. "I got class in five minutes."

Blocking his path out of the stalks, she tried to make strict eye contact. "Would you like to hang out after class?"

"Um, not right now. Excuse me." He brushed past her. He didn't even look at her once.

_What's up with him?_

She huffed loudly. Now she was no longer in a mood to scout for new books. She backed out of the library heading for the front entrance. The halls barren except for the few stragglers trying to make it to class.

"Miss." She was stopped by a man crossing her path. "Excuse me, but would you know where Mrs. Ellington's office is?"

"Uh, yes. It's right around the corner, Room 205. But she's teaching a class right now." She looked up at the man, studying him for a bit. He was fairly young. Too young to be a teacher, but almost too old to be a student.

And his attire...He was wearing a black Armani suit. What teacher or student would wear such a garb to a school is beyond her.

"I see." He seemed a bit disappointed. "Are you a student here?"  
"No..." She became steadily uneasy. This man certainly spoke as powerful as he dressed. He smelled heavily of clove cigarettes which was also just as pungent

He waited for a more correct answer to fall out of her mouth.  
"My mother teaches here."

"Does she? Do I know her?"  
"I don't know." She started to move around him so she can make her escape.

"Valdez."

"What?"

"Does she know a Sakyo Valdez?"  
"I'm not sure..." _Damn. He's good at manipulating. _"Who's that?"  
He smirked triumphantly. "I seem to forgotten what room it was..."  
"205."

"And where-?"

"I'll just show you." She finally gave. _Only to the door. He's on his own afterward._

He followed steadily behind her. She wondered what would happen if she made a break for it around the corner.

"Here you go, sir." She stopped right by the door.

"Call me Sakyo." He smiled at her before making a abrupt entrance in to the classroom. She could hear her mother giving one of her atrociously long lectures. Then silence.

Momo was already around the corner but she was still in earshot as she heard her mother's voice echoed down the hall.

"Excuse me, class. Please go ahead and read the forward to chapter twelve. I'll be right back."

Politely she closed the door behind her and greeted the strange gentleman.

"Mrs. Ellington, I take you're already aware of why I'm here."

"Of course, but you should know that now is not the time. I already sent a message about the documents."

"Yes, but he's a bit impatient about these matters."

"I can see." The unpleasantness of her mother was felt in those words. Something odd was going on and Momo could tell by how serious this conversation turned. "I can have it done by the end of this week."  
"I have orders to not leave without it."  
"Then you would just have to find a inn to stay at somewhere till then." She returned to her class quite smug. Her mother would always have the last word.

The young man in the hall was quite distraught over this as he lingered there. Momo could only stand to watch.

"Would you care to show me back to the door?" He said without directing it towards anyone. Though oddly suspicious it seem to be at her. She reappeared around the corner.  
"You knew I was listening the whole time?"  
He smirked.  
"Yes, Miss Ellington."

"And you knew that was my mother?"

"The door?" He said more agitated as he took out a cigarette ready to be lit.  
"Yes, of course." She showed him out where his car was still waiting. He let a breath of relief as he finally lit his cigarette and took a drag.

"I'll be seeing you around." He said as he got in the backseat.

* * *

Dinner was by far awkward. Sitting across from her mother as she joyfully talked to her father made her cringe inside. She knew her mother had secrets, but knowing a part to one of them was troubling. It was like missing the piece to a puzzle.

Her mother was in doubtfully hiding something.

_It's definitely not an affair. _Which she would have almost wished it was. This was something that seemed more serious.

Maybe grave.

And how the man knew she was her daughter. _Well maybe that was evident. _

"Momo, are you there?" Her mother was wearing one of those fake smiles.

"I'm fine."

"So have you found anything interesting to do besides lurking at the library?"  
"No, not yet."

Her mother gave a disapproving look.

"Well at least she's not spending her time with boys." Her father remarked sounding a bit relieved.

"I need to get back to grading papers, excuse me" Her mother dismissed herself from the table.

* * *

Needless to say, Momo did not find herself venturing to the college the next day. Though she did find herself downtown at the local bookstore. Something about going to the library did not seem right, especially since Howl felt like it was better if they did not see each other.

It stroke a nerve harder then it should have.

She left the bookstore to grab some lunch nearby, just a quick bagel and coffee at the local cafe which was populated by its usual crowd. Recognizing the regular rugby players she scurried out of there.

"Hey!" Amongst the crowd one of them grab her arm. She turned around to only stare in to a couple of familiar green eyes.

"Howl?" She was surprised by the interaction. But he wasn't exactly happy to see her.

"We need to talk."  
"Okay..." She looked for an empty table which there seemed to be a lack of.

"Let's go outside," He directed her out of the cafe. His wish for them to be out of earshot was urgent. About a block down did they finally stopped walking.

"What is it?" He gave her a blank stare. "The thing you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh, that's right. It's about that mother of yours."

"Again?"

"Who was that man that showed yesterday in the middle of class?"  
"I dunno. Maybe someone from the Oxford University?"

"Sure...he looks like the scholarly type." That was pure sarcasm.

"No then? You don't think its like an affair or something?"

"He's so young though. He's like my age almost."

"And he's dressed better."

He glared down on her, then let out an exasperated sigh.

"I guess it doesn't matter. Though I keep spotting him near the campus."

"No, it probably doesn't."

"Then lets go." He grabbed her hand.  
"Go where?"

"My sister is out doing the grocery shopping."

"And that's suppose to be an invitation?"  
"I'm suppose to be tutoring you! I think she would start to get oddly suspicious if we don't keep up the facade."  
"Yet, you want nothing to do with me because of my mother."  
"True, but we are not seeing in each other in plain sight, right?"

Against better judgment she agreed to follow him to his house, walking only a few feet behind. As he said, no one was home. His sister had taken his nephew with her, and her husband must have been at work.

She was hesitant to follow him up to his room.  
"You need anything?" He asked. She shook her head. "So do you want to stay down here or study in my room?"

"Down here is fine." She inspected the interior of the living room. It was homey and had a very feminine touch to it. Nice and cozy. Too bad her home wasn't like this.

"I'm going to make some tea." He dropped his bag in one of the big chairs. "Have a seat where ever you want."

She heard him in the kitchen. Taking out a book to appear like she was busy, she was really observing the house. It was evident that a mother lived her. There wasn't any trace of Howl's existence in this house. Not even pictures on the family mantel. It was all a happy couple with their 3 year old son.

"Here." A cup was tossed in front of her face.

"Thanks." _Even though I declined your offer. _She took it anyways and set it on the coffee table.

"So." He sat down on the couch beside her. "Should we examine the inner minds of Frost or perhaps Donne?"

Her lips tingled into a smile. She picked her cup up from the table and took a sip to hide it. Despite her attempts to hide it, he didn't notice. He pulled out a book of his bag and leafed through it. Tons of prices of papers were slipped between the pages acting as bookmarks.

"Here's a couple good ones."

"Is this for your next English paper?"

"Maybe." He seemed to be in-denial for a moment. "I just want an honest opinion from someone that knows her well."

"Flirting with the enemy?"

"Not exactly." He smiled. "How about...?" He lingered on a page for a moment. "The Wasteland."

"The Wasteland is too melancholy."

"But there is so much satire in it."

"My mom will hate it."

He rolled his eyes. "You pick one then." She sighed as he handed her the book. Flipping though it, she found that looked appeasing. "This one." She pointed at it and handed it back to him.

"Are you serious?" It was the Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope. Somehow he didn't want to say it out loud.

"Yes. Seems appropriate."

"Did you think I did something your mother didn't like?"  
"I don't know. Why you asking me?" She scoffed.

"Okay, I'll do this one."

"Good." She said as she got up. "I need to get home before dinner." He walked her out to the door.

"I'll have this done for you by tomorrow," he smoothly said.

"Don't think too hard on that."  
"Same time, same place?"  
"Isn't your family going to be around?"

"No, they're going off to London tomorrow for a bit."

"Without you?"

"It's my choice." He didn't seem too heartbroken as he closed the door. Afraid to look back, she started to walk back to her house. Not even a block away, she noticed a black sedan creeping up behind her. She stop abruptly when it was becoming too obvious. It stopped. The back door open and a familiar face greeted her. Though she did not feel the least bit welcomed by it.

Before he could even say anything, she went on the defensive.

"What is it this time? Still looking for directions?"

Sakyo smiled as he flicked a used bud on the ground. She curled her lip in disapproved.

"No, I thought maybe you want a ride?"

"I don't get in to cars with strangers."

"You know my name. Plus I know you probably have a lot of questions."

"Not really." _What a prick._ She continued walking not expecting that he would get out of the car, not in that fancy suit of his. He took her wrist and pulled her in to the backseat with him. "Hey!" Reaching over he closed the door, before she could escape. The driver, who was in on it child locked it immediately. "This is forced kidnapping!" She spat in his face.

That's when he flashed a hundred pound note in her face. "Not any more, consider it bribery."

"I don't want your money." He looked her in the eye like she was crazy, then shook his head.

"Take it anyway." He aggressively put it in her hand and forcibly closed her fingers around it.

"What is this about?" Sakyo signaled the driver to continue driving. They didn't even ask for directions which means they must know where she lived. Not that it was hard to figure out, now that she remembered.

"Your mother." What a blatant answer. _Of course it was, _she rolled her eyes.  
"Obviously, she seems to be center of attention these days."

"Does that make you jealous?" He mused.

"No."

"I think you are just as beautiful as your mother, maybe a little bit better looking. And extremely obstinate."

"What is it that you want from her?" She rubbed off all the flattery he was giving her.  
"Ah good, so you were listening the other day." She glared at him. "You see, Ailith, _your mother_, is quite influential in her work."

"So you are from the university." She stumbled a bit on what Howl mentioned earlier. "Oxford." He shook his head. "Then where?"  
"We are a more private organization. With a very big investor."

"What do you guys do?" She didn't really want to know, but was too curious to turn away now. _What has my mother gotten herself in to?_

"The usual."  
_Well that answers a lot. _She huffed giving up at this pointless questioning and stared outside the window. He sensed her agitation and tried to resolve it.

"All you should know is we are not the good guys."

"So what are you after then?"

"That I can't tell you." She scolded at him. "At least not yet."

Hr pulled out a cigarette from a black pack labeled Kretek. They were clove cigarettes which he reeked of, that and musky cologne. His lighter was black too, and was embroidered with initials. _S.N._

The car stopped before he could let his first puff. She looked back outside, they were around the corner from her house. "Expect to see me very soon."

She stumbled out of the car as soon as she could after those last parting words. He smirked at her before closing the side door. She watched the car as it silently disappeared around the corner.

_This is so weird, I should take off. _That thought of just dismissing all of this as insane as it revolve around her mother hit her. But she looked at the crumpled a hundred pound note in her hand and started to progress backwards.


	5. In which the lion does not sleep

**Yeah this has been a super long hiatus! Sorry for the long wait. **

**owowo**

Her mother was home again early. _Odd...most be grading more papers, _she thought passing by her office. Taking a peek inside, she saw the hurried disarray it was in. Books were laid open, papers everywhere. It didn't look like a common night in grading papers.  
_I wonder if this was the thing that is suppose to be due in five days? The one that Sakyo mentioned..._

Her mother looked up from her clutter of paperwork on the desk and saw her in the hallway.  
"Oh, you're home."

Momo feign a smile at her.

"Your father can't make it home tonight. He had some urgent business that he had to drive to London for. So it is just you and me for dinner."

_Great. We are both horrible at cooking. _

"Want me to see what looks good for take-out?"

"If you please." Her mother smiled. She was glad she had the same idea. Momo marched back down to the kitchen to look at coupon ads for Thai or maybe Italian.

_I wonder if she saw the sedan._ Impossible, he dropped her off before the corner._  
_

Though she was amazed how much she had got passed her mother in the last week or two. Normally she was more perceptive. Hiding things from her mother was always near impossible, even as a small child. That time when she broke her favorite vase by accident by playing ball in the house or accidentally spilled juice over her favorite dress because she wanted to play dress up in mommy's clothes. Or even when she went in to borrowed a pair of heels on the weekend to go to a friend's party a couple years ago when her mother was out in London for a conference.

It made her wonder how long she could hide her friendship with the boy. She was surprised her mother didn't bomber her with questions when she walked in. But it was the summer time and she was used to her staying out later. Her mind was differently preoccupied with something.

_I do want to find out what it is, but I don't like getting involved with that man either. He scares me. In a horrid way. _

**owowo**

The days really started to drag on. She heard little from Howl, who was obviously too busy back and forth between classes and the library. He seemed to have taken her advice from the other day on his paper. Which apparently was not done the next day as he turned her away from his door. Rugby season was also almost full-blown for college students so she spied on him at practice while pretending to read a book in the stands.

He noticed her every time and would flash her a smile. Even though that would incur being plummeted to the ground by his fellow teammates.

"You really need to stop that." He sat down next to her in the stands. Practice was over, though some of his team was still hanging out on the field.

"Are you telling me I can't read?"

"Only if you were actually reading. You haven't flipped a page for awhile."

She grinned. _Of course he noticed. _

"So how's the paper?"

"Not too horrendous. Yet." His eyes wandered to his teammates. They were all still huddled on the field and every once in awhile they were staring at the couple on the bench. "Want to go somewhere else?"

"Um, sure?" He got up first and headed out towards the back side of the field. Following quietly she noticed the greenhouse up ahead. The stares from the rugby players on the field were evident as well.

_I wonder what's their problems now. _

They were out of sight though behind some bushes and were quickly forgotten. The greenhouse was usually vacant. The caretaker was quite lax with maintenance and some of it was starting to show. He closed the door carefully behind him even though he was aware of how abandoned the greenery was.

_What a pity this is all gone to waste.  
_"I don't think this is going to work." Howl started to spill his thoughts.

"What isn't going to work? The paper? I thought it was still going okay."  
"No, you don't understand." He kept a good smile on his face despite what he was about to say. "Look, everyone is noticing how much you hang around me. In fact, my reputation is going sour."  
"Really? What reputation?" She mused. _What I understood was that you were the clown on the team. _

He disregard her question and got to the point. "Everyone thinks we have something going on."  
"Well, that's totally ridiculous. We're only friends."

"I know, but you know how horrible that makes me look, if my classmates think I'm dating a thirteen-year-old girl. Especially since she's the daughter of one of the professors that is currently trying to flunk me out of English."  
"I'll be fourteen in the fall." She said. He rolled his eyes.

"Like that helps."  
"So you don't want to see me, even though we aren't really technically 'seeing' each other, just to save face to your friends?"  
"You get it!" He said with some enthusiasm flaring his arms. He add a charming twinkle in his eyes.

"That is very shitty." She curtly added in a menacing tone.  
"You can still come over if you want..." He tried to reconcile a bit. He didn't want to completely lose her. He just didn't want to see her at school.

"That's even more shittier. You think I'm that idiotic?" She frowned a little looking away. _Now I totally feel like I'm being used. _  
Howl felt like he was picking up on something with her body language and obvious infliction. He quickly switched over to a more serious tone.

"Look we can still be friends, just not at school. You didn't think we were going out?"

She turned back to him and firmly stated her opinion."NO! Why the hell-"

"Then what's the problem?"

"Absolutely nothing..." she trailed off looking away.

"Good." It fell silent after wards. An awkward silence that hung there for too long. They stared at each other for about a minute.

"I need to go..." she started as she tried to fled towards the exit. Howl extended an arm blocking her path. He stared at her as she became increasingly uneasy.

_What is he doing? Why is he just looking at me like that? _It was bad enough trying to figure him out with his empty glass eyes. She could only see her self reflection in those marbles.

It was then. He started to move in like he was going kiss her! She turned her head to avoid him. He stopped, then back away with a surprise look on his face.

"I guess not."

"You guess not WHAT?!" she yelled at him.

"That is none of your business." He folded his arms looking down on her. "Shouldn't you be on your way home pretending that you don't have a infatuation with someone?"

She rolled her eyes as she fled past him. She slammed the garden house door behind her.

"This is why I can't deal with the average teenage hormones," he mused to himself._ They are too easy to mess with. _

**owowo**

She was mute at the dinner table that night. Her father did not even try to converse with her. He saw the glaring glow in her eyes and retreated. It was the same look Ailith had when she did not want to be bother.

In her room she tried to reason with herself.

_That man is so manipulative! He was just playing with me. _She huffed. When she thought about it, she couldn't understand. _I mean, he's not that bad looking. I'm sure he could get any girl he wanted with that charming attitude. Though maybe girls around his age aren't interested in him. _

Though it sometimes felt like he regarded himself as plain when in fact he did have handsome features. It was besides the point, the idea that he would seriously be flirting with a girl her age was unusual. He should be worrying more about what college-age girls thought.

_It shouldn't matter anymore, _she pushed out any thought about him. _I won't be seeing him again. Ever. _

Her mother was becoming frequently more absent. Her office was empty yet in total chaos. She was spending more time at work, which meant more trips to the University delivering her lunch that always seems to be forgotten. As much as she tried, Momo seem to always be catching her at a bad time.

"Thanks." Her mother forced a smile. She was preoccupied with a stack of papers on her desk. "I absolutely hate midterm season." Instead of grabbing for her lunch, she took another paper off the stack. "Really? _The Rape of the Lock._"

Momo perked up for a moment. _That isn't his...? _She leaned over. Sure enough, his name was scribbled in the corner. She watched her mother started marking it in red.

"Is something the matter?" Her mother looked up for a moment.

"Nothing."

"I'll see you at home then." And she verbally threw Momo out of the classroom. It wasn't the first time her words have such a effect.

She walked down the steps of the college. _Looks like its going to rain..._ It would be raining almost every day for awhile. It seems like summer was getting closer to an end.

Which meant that the beginning of term should be starting soon and she would have to spend her days in the inside of a classroom.

_Is somebody smoking near the campus? _She walked around the outside wall to see a man leaning against the wall. _Well at least he's technically outside the grounds. _The rules were very strict here prohibiting smoking on the campus. One would think no one would even try a stunt even within the parameter. It was not really her concern so she kept on walking past.

"Momo." She stopped and turn around.

Of course. Who else could it have been? She should have figured that the smell of clove cigarettes would have given his presence away.

She looked nervous and started to look around hoping no one would see her with this man. It was the fear that her mother might walk out any moment or perhaps someone else.

"What do you want?" she was hoping to get this conversation over with and just give him whatever he wanted. He took his time taking the last drag of his cigarette before putting it out.

"You want a ride?"

_No. _Of course she would never accept a ride from him ever again, but regarding the last time she had politely refuse, (_at least in the scenario she liked to replay her head from time to time)_ she did not want another uncomfortable scuffle involving her getting forced in to the backseat.

She realized she still had the hundred pound note, unspent, sitting in her wallet where it may rot for eternity.

He was standing right beside her now, and his chauffeur was sitting in the black Benz right across the street. She nodded.

_Well, it does look like its going to rain. _Somehow she felt she might not make it home dry if she didn't accept.

"After you," he said graciously holding the car door open for her. She slid across the back seat. He joined her and motion the driver to go.

_At least I'm not alone with this man. _She stared at the driver. He seemed just like a regular chump hired to drive a car and probably have little to do with Sakyo's personal affairs. It was then did she see that it was exactly that. With a push of a button, a glass divider rose up between the front and back seat.

"What are-"

"Tomorrow..." He cut her off, then paused. "What ever happens, don't lose your that pretty smart head of yours."

"Why? What's going to happen tomorrow?"  
"It's out of my control, but if your mother doesn't keep her promise, I can't really be certain."

"Why are you telling me this?" _This is obviously my mother's problem and not mine. _

Though maybe it would be better to be concerned. If Howl was, maybe she should be.

"It doesn't matter why I am telling you this. You should really learn to just take advice and not question things. It could save you."

_You are a very agreeable man, aren't you. _She looked at him as he lite another cigarettes.

"You know, chain smoking is bad for you."

"If I wanted you to state the obvious, I would have asked." He continued with what he was doing, not caring about the other occupant in the car. When they stopped at the corner of her street, he didn't even bother to look at her. "Get out."

She did not needed to be told again to leave. Without looking back, she ran to her house.

**owowo**

**Thanks for reading! Should have the next chapter out as soon as I can. Which could mean forever. Not too sure how this would end though! **


	6. Chapter 6

**owowo**

It was hard to focus on anything for the rest of that day. Not after the warning she was given. And who knows if she was even going to be present during this event. Her mother always had her way and she highly doubt whatever shady business she was a part of, she would allow Momo to be present. She would find some way to send her away.

It was definitely odd.

She looked at the calendar in the kitchen where appointments were marked. Her dad was going to be 'out of town' for the weekend. He would driving in to London for a seminar at the University and won't be back til Monday.

_Of course that doesn't really put me out of the picture. _

Usually her weekends were spent in the library or hanging outside when the weather was nice during the summer holiday. She highly doubt she will ever cross paths with her mother tomorrow or for the whole weekend for that matter. She never saw her til the dinner table most of the night anyways.

This only made her want to track her mother's movements more now. _She has always been suspicious anyways. Long office even past midterm season. What is she doing? _

It was til she got a mysterious phone call later that day was she thrown off her game. It was mysterious indeed, since she never receive phone calls, unless it was grandma. And it wasn't grandma.

"Hey, good! You're home. I wanted to ask you something."

"Where did you get this number?" She furiously raised her voice at the receiver. Her father was already on his way to London, and luckily her mother was still at work. If she had picked up the phone, who knows what would have happen. _More red ink for you..._

"That doesn't matter." _Actually, it does! _"Hey, listen. I want to apologize for the other day."

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot how I damaged your fragile reputation."

He fell silent on the other side. Momo can sense the frustration. "Look, I'm really sorry!" It was very sincere. "I just...panicked a little. I'm not asking for you to forgive me."

_Then what are you asking for? _"Are you done yet?"

"Um, no. I kinda want to know...well there's a rugby match tomorrow. Did you want to perhaps come?"

_A rugby match? _She admit it was kinda hard to watch practice the other day. She wasn't a big fan and only went to see a certain player. No matter how horrible he was.

"Okay. I'll come."

"Really?" He sounded shocked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're serious that you will come?"

"Yes. I'm serious."

"Good, it's at two. Sit in your usual spot." He hang up the phone too excited to say any goodbyes.

She ended up wearing at least two layers of clothes the next day as she was getting ready for the game. As she anticipated, her mother was actually out. Like usually. _Probably secretly meeting someone and doing secret stuff. Not that it matter anymore._

Again, it was a cloudy day. She grab a light jacket and an umbrella just in case before heading off to the rugby field. Sitting in her usual spot on the benches, she observed the sky. It was still trying to make up its mind.

People started cheering when the team came out and booing at the opposing. It seemed like they were a Scottish team. Among the players, she quickly picked out Howl. He seemed to make no recognition of her presence as he went to the field.

A whistle sounded marking the beginning of the game. That was her cue to take out her book and started to divulge in to her paperback. She did not want to focus too hard with all her attention on the game. It was best observing silently as she flipped to the next page. Somehow she knew that Howl would not mind.

The game went faster then she thought. With only halfway threw her book, did she only realized that people were piling out of the stands. Ignoring the deafening howls of the crowd, she put her bookmark in the book and started to descend down the stairs. Howl was still with his team, talking loudly that everyone can hear them.

"Did you see Jenkins just blunder on that throw?"

"Hey, it was only that one time!"

"We're just messing with you." One of them ruffled his hair, but he didn't like that.

"Momo!" He greeted her, dodging his buddies to join her. He wore a big smile for her. "We won!"  
"That's great," she added dismally. He placed his arm around her as he tried to steer her away form his teammates.  
"I'm glad you came." He whispered to her. "I'm sorry but I was invited to go drinking with the team, I would invite you but..."

"I get it," she said not really caring. It seemed that all he ever did was show off to his friends. She guessed that included playing drinking games.

"If you're free tomorrow?"

"Yeah, no problem. Just give me a call." She waved goodbye to him.

"Wait..." he said before she could run off. "Be careful."

It was ominous. It felt more like a warning then a statement. Like he sense that something was bad.

"Okay!" She smiled.

"I mean it, there are a lot of creeps out there!"

"You included?" He smirked and disappear in to the locker rooms.

She turned around and headed home. It was already starting to rain. Of course nothing else ever happens in Wales but rain.

The house was empty as usual. Her father should have already made it to London by now and be giving a lecture. And her mother, who knows where she was. It was impossible to predict her moments.

She grabbed a bottle of water and headed up towards her room. It wasn't till she got to her room that she remembered she forgot to take off her shoes.

_Shit. _She threw them off and tossed them in the closet. They weren't too dirt so hopefully she didn't track any dirt in to the house. She could probably clean it up before her dad got home. Her mother was the only one that didn't really abide by that rule. She would wear her heels all day in the house. It made her presence more menacing at times but at least Momo was able to hear her coming. _Maybe it'll get blame on her? _

She pulled out a book and started to do some more reading. She had already mastered the summer reading list that her school handed out. Finding other material to read was getting harder.

_Maybe I should play a game or something? _She thought looking at her playstation. It was starting to collect dust now.

She was about to turn it on after brushing the dust off when she heard the front door open. It was hopefully her mother. She looked out her window and saw two cars park out front.

_A black sedan? _Now this was getting interesting. Was he really downstairs right now too? Was today really the day?

_Definitely should be careful..._It made more sense now. The warning. She cracked open her door to see if she can hear downstairs.

"My husband is in London for the weekend and it looks like my daughter is still out." She heard her mother downstairs. "Probably at the library again," she muttered. As usual she was wearing her shoes in the house. That part was predictable. But her mother thought she was out due to her lack of shoes in the shoe cabinet. _If only I didn't wear my shoes in today..._

"And if they come home early?"

"Don't worry about it. We will be done shortly I hope."

_I'm certain that is Sakyo._ _What the hell is going on?_

"Mrs. Ellington, we will try to keep this as cordial as possible."

"I understand. It's all here, you can check them yourselves."

Momo heard some shuffling of papers.

"This is pretty impressive. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider our original proposal, Mrs. Ellington?" This time it was a different person speaking. Someone older then her mother. His voice sounded more gentle compared to Sakyo. "You can work on the project as the head adviser."

"Please call me Ailith. And I still rest on my original decision."

"Hmmmm. What do you think Sakyo?" He obviously wanted her to change her mind. Maybe someone else could do it.

"Not even if we were willing to raise the stakes a little? The pay out will be extremely more generous."

"I don't think that would be appropriate at this time considering that I have a family, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to understand." Her mother directed curtly towards Sakyo. The older gentleman in the room only laughed.

"You're pretty stubborn, aren't you?" He didn't seem the least bit upset by the rejection.

Momo moved out of her room and inched closer to the top of the stairs. She wanted to sneak a peek at the other man and maybe even the transaction. "I think that's good enough. Sakyo, please wire the payment to Mrs. Ellington's account. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

She heard them get up. They were walking in to her direct view from the stairwell. It was perfect till one of them looked up. Of course, Sakyo noticed her right away. And by his gestures, they all looked too.

"Momo!" Her mother gasped. Her voice full of dread rather then anger. "I thought you were still out?" She then register that she wore her shoes inside the house again, otherwise she would have known. _You really are my daughter sometimes..._

"Is that your daughter, Ailith? She looks just like you!" The older gentleman was impressed.

_Are these people really suppose to be the bad guys? Sakyo for sure, but this man looks like a kindly old grandpa. _

"Yes, she was suppose to be out. Momo, how long were you there?"

Before she could say anything, the man continued. "Is she like you, Ailith? I wanna get a closer look."

"Um, well..." that stumped her mother. She seemed scared too. She didn't know how to respond.

_What does he mean by that? _It only caught Momo's attention more as she inched her way down the staircase.

"The money?" Sakyo chimed in. "Would you like me to transfer the payment to Mrs. Ellington right now." He had pulled out his cell phone.  
"Oh yes, please do. It's about time that I should leave." The older gentleman made his way to the door.

"I can walk you out," Ailith offered getting the door from him. She was only trying to quicken the process and get them to leave. They went ahead leaving Sakyo alone in the hallway.

Momo watched him dial his cellphone, apparently he was talking to an automated system. He kept his eyes on her the whole time while he spoke a string of numbers out loud.

When he was done he hung up.

"Who was that old man?" Momo asked.

"It's not polite to pry." Sakyo responded turning towards the door.

"Then I suppose it's not really my concern then."

"Exactly." He closed the door after him. It was the last time she would see him for a long time.

Momo sat on the stairs till her mother came back in. She could hear the sounds of the car in the distance as it drove off.

Her mother answered her with what she wanted to hear. For the first in forever, something she always wanted.  
"We need to talk."

"What did those men want?"

"Go upstairs and wait for me. I'll make some tea." Her mother went to the kitchen. _This was going to be a long night._

**owowo**

Tea. Of course nothing could happen in England and Wales itself without not happening with tea. Momo was surprised that her mother didn't even make any for her 'guest.' She waited in her study. Her mother handed her a cup of earl grey, exactly the way that she usually took it.

Momo asked the first question before her mother could say anything.

"How much did they pay you off for?" She paused before feigning a smile.

"That's not really your business."

"So it was a lot wasn't it?"

"If you wanted to pry that much in to my personal business then I should ask you what you were doing going to a Rugby match."

"Fresh air."

"Do you like him?"

"Like who?" She countered feigning ignorance. She wouldn't know, would she? Momo knew she shouldn't be surprised that she knew she was at a rugby match. She really did know more then she should.

"I've seen that boy. He's interesting but I prefer that you quit seeing him. Besides I think you have had little effect on his writing abilities."

_She knew?!_

"How did you-?"

"It was pretty obvious. You should know better that you can't hide things from me. Especially when I work at the college. My office has a perfect view of the field."

"I'm sorry." Not that she really meant it. She might as well play the apologetic role to get back on her good side. Besides this was the longest conversation she had have with her mother in a long time. And it was about a boy.

"Anyways, we aren't here to discuss the horrible papers that Jenkins writes. You cannot tell your father about what happened today."

"I wish you could elaborate more...I still don't have a clue on what happen today." _Besides a huge transaction involving some suspicious characters. Could be a drug deal for all I know. _

"Those men were bad people. I hated the idea that I was involved with them. But they were being extremely persistent. Even going as far as trying to blackmail me."

_Blackmail?! That old grandpa blackmailing? _Momo could imagine Sakyo pulling the strings, he seemed like the type but the old man? He must have been some serious business.

"What did they want? And why would they still pay you if they wanted to blackmail you anyways? What are they blackmailing you with?"

"Too many questions."

Momo shut her mouth.

"My guess is that they only paid me as a incentive to maybe stay. I'm still doubtful that this will be the last that I will see them. But I guess that would lead to other things that I haven't told you." She didn't say anything at first but walked over to her bookshelf. She came back to her desk holding a couple books. "I'm pretty sure that you and your friend have already seen these."

Ah, so she knew that we were in here snooping around too. On her desk were both copies of the books that apparently did not exist. Not in this universe at least.

"Um, yeah."

"You're probably wondering on how I knew, right?" She nodded. "Well, I guess you can call it magic. Witchcraft."

"Are you fucking real?" _Magic. _She shouldn't have been surprised. It was the second time someone has made this joke.

"Wha- watch your language! I don't know where you learned to talk to me like that."

"You gotta admit that sounds crazy though. You honestly want me to believe that?! You're a college physic professor for crying out loud."

"I guess you have a point. I guess I don't have a choice. Let's go."

"Go where?"

"To a colleague's house." She watched her mother leave the room. She reluctantly followed her mother who she know lead to believe was crazy beyond belief now.

Sitting in the car with her made her even more off edge.

_You would think someone like me would want to believe her. After all who else would be more inane to the idea of magic? Even Howl was talking about it._

The silent car ride was only making it worse. She knew her mother did not want to talk anymore. It would make sense now the reason why her mother knew so much too.

"Hey." She blurted out.

"Don't say 'hey' to me. You should be more respectful to your mother."

"Sorry..." Again with the apologetic mode. Talking to her mother was too hard most of the time anyways especially with her frank attitude. "I just wanted to know...if you can do magic does that mean I can too?" She pointed to herself.

"I don't know, I never seen you do magic. Do you think you can?"

_What kind of question is that? Shouldn't you know more then anyone else if I can or not? After all you are my mother for christs' sake! You raised me!_

"I don't know. I guess I never tried."

"Did that boy say anything to you?"

Again, with referring to Howl as 'that boy.' _I don't need to know how much you hate him._

"About what? All we talk about is books and stuff."

"Sure you do. I'm not stupid you know. I was young too."

"Then what do you mean? Why do you have to bring him in like that?"

"I just wanted to see if you knew. That boy isn't normal. I knew the moment I saw him in my class that he was a wizard. If he knew himself though, I wasn't in the right to tell him."

"Why not?"

"I wanted to see how much he could figure it out on his own."

Well you're right on that much. She remember the conversation they had together.

"He knows."

"Does he? Not that I'm shocked. I knew he had enough sense to figure it out."

"Well he believes in magic, that's all I really know. We haven't talked much besides that."

"I see."

The drive took almost another hour. An hour too long. As far as she noticed they were still in Wales, heading to the Northern side.

_I don't know how this is suppose to help convince me._

They stopped at a gigantic two-story estate. It was a definitely fit for the upper class. Royals even. They had a front lawn big enough for a shopping center!

_Where did my mom meet these sort of rich people?_

Not that her mother wasn't as successful as she knew she was. It's that she just chose to live in below her means. Regardless of the fact that she wanted to stay still and marvel at the view, she followed her mother to the front door.

It seems they were expected already as the front door opened and they were greeted by a younger gentleman in his early twenties.

"Benjamin!"

"M-mrs. Ellington. This is a surprise. My mother just told me to go answer the door at exactly this time about an hour ago. I didn't know it was you." He seemed nervous standing in front of her mother, like most people were. He welcomed them in.

"I figured she would. This is my daughter, Momo." She turned to her.

"Hello, I'm Benjamin Sullivan Jr. You can just call me Ben though." He offered his hand and Momo shook it.

"Hi," she smiled. He was a charmer, like Howl. He was quite dashing and had a warm feeling about him though. Something she didn't recuperate from Howl.

"Excuse me. I need to have a chat with Eileen. Can you be gentleman and keep this one company." Her mother walked past them like she knew where she was going leaving the two alone.

"So, Miss Ellington," Ben started to strike a conversation. "I can tell you are very talented. What are you studying?"

_Is he talking about magic? And talented? Me?! _She was not sure on how to answer his question.

"Oh, um. I'm only in secondary school."

"Pity, she rather wait for you to finish an education first."

"How long have you been...studying magic, is it?"

"Since I was about eight. I already taken up an apprenticeship."

_I feel so far behind._

"Does your whole family...? Do they all...?"

"Yes. We have had magic for generations." She shook her head. "You should come meet my mother. She was having tea just now."

_Of course, nothing happens without tea. _

She followed Ben outside towards a greenhouse. Her mother was already there in a deep conversation with the stately woman there. She appeared to be a little older then Ailith and had the same warm smile as her son.

When they saw the two approaching they stopped talking.

"This is my daughter," Ailith introduced her.

"You finally told her. About time. I figured it was about due. You know you can't really keep magical talent locked up for too long."

"Well, I was waiting till she was done with her education, but I ran in to a small complication."

"Oh?"

"One of my students seem to be magically gifted."

"What's his family name? Is it someone we know?"

"No. He comes from a non-magical background. I think he is quite aware of what he can do. I just don't know how to deal with it yet."

"You should refer him to your teacher. Abigail just let of go another student and Benjamin Jr. is almost done. He was thinking of opening his own shop soon."

"I don't mind talking to Mrs. Pentstemmon." Ben answered.

"No bother," Ailith cut in. "I'll write to her. It's been quite a while anyways since the last time I wrote."

"Well that solves that. Now maybe you should considered starting lessons with your daughter?"

"I'll think about it. We have to go before your father gets home."

Ailith said her goodbyes to Eileen before Ben showed them to the door. He waved to them as they drew off.

"They were...nice." Momo commented as they sat in the car.

"You can't say anything to your father...for now."

"Does that mean you plan on telling him?"

"I don't know."

They got home before her father which was good enough. She watched her mother make a cup of tea in the kitchen. She hated to ask but wanted to see.

"Are you going to teach me magic soon?"

"Eventually. Don't worry about it right now. We will worry about it when it happens."

"When what happens?'

"When you actually exhibit some kind of magic ability."

"You mean I'm inept?"

"No! Well...we don't know yet. Sometime it takes time. Look at your friend."

"But he told me he's known for awhile." She sat down at the table. Her mother took out a second cup. "He told me he ended up in a different world once before when he was younger. It was right after his mother passed away." Her mother listened with little scrutinizing. "It was a little village and they had little trinkets like seven-league boots. That has to be something, right?"

"It sounds like he's been through a lot." She joined her bringing both mugs. "It's not that simple though. Sometimes you need a trigger, obviously Howell had an emotionally one, but sometimes you need to wait."

Momo came to realization on how human her mother was acting. It was the first time she mention Howl by his first name. Obviously she found him remarkable as well.

"You're still young. Give it some time." They finished their tea in silence before heading upstairs. Before going to her bed, Momo took one of her mother's book. Magical theory look to be promising. Her mother showed little objection to her helping herself to her bookself. She sat quietly at her desk grading papers as Momo left to her room with the book.

**owowowow**

**Thanks for reading! **


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